Anyone on TMC own a 2016 Volt?

[jamieb]

My wife's daily driver, a 2004 Prius will need to be replaced in the next year, it's showing its age and we're starting to pay more for repairs.

I'm strongly considering replacing it with the 2016 Volt, which I took a look at recently. She loves my Model S but isn't interested in the route planning and charging while on long trips that those of us on TMC take for granted. Her daily commute is <30 miles but she has to do a long trip (>300 miles round trip) a few times a month to different places up and down the state including some pretty rural and remote areas. She has no interest in planning routes and finding charging locations, so the Volt would mean that 90% of her driving would be all-electric but it would still function for those remote trips.

I live in California, where the $2500 rebate from the state air resources board will begin being means-tested after January 1, so if we're going to get a Volt, I'd like to do it this month.

Has anyone here purchased a 2016 Volt? Any feedback on the car?

 

[bsbomber]

We have a 2013 Volt with 25K miles (90% electric miles). I would say absolutely get the 2016 Volt. It will be a major step up for your wife and she will love it. We owned a 2012 Prius V for 20K miles before I sold the piece of junk. If I had researched the crash videos before I bought the Prius, I wouldn't have bought it. I would never want any of my loved ones to be in a major accident in a Prius. Before the Model S showed up, the Volt was winning awards including High-strength.

 

[JenniferQ]

I'm glad you posted this thread. I am thinking of getting the '16 Volt for my daughter next year. Looking forward to more comments.

There was a good review of it in last month's Car and Driver and we went and saw one in person and she was impressed (this is the girl who thinks she now needs a white Tesla after falling in love with mine!). She's happy they did away with the black band around the windows. She was not a fan of that.

Haven't test-driven but plan on that next week.

 

[Bangor Bob]

If you can wait a bit, 17's can be ordered later this month and will be available late winter/early spring. Updates include Adaptive cruise and Android Auto. 16's are very limited production, 17s will have wide availability. No word yet on what else will be different between the 16's and 17's.

Lots of good info and user reviews here:

GM-Volt.com Gen 2 forum

 

[Grendal]

I'm strongly considering replacing it with the 2016 Volt, which I took a look at recently. She loves my Model S but isn't interested in the route planning and charging while on long trips that those of us on TMC take for granted. Her daily commute is <30 miles but she has to do a long trip (>300 miles round trip) a few times a month to different places up and down the state including some pretty rural and remote areas. She has no interest in planning routes and finding charging locations, so the Volt would mean that 90% of her driving would be all-electric but it would still function for those remote trips.

Your wife seems like the perfect candidate for the Chevy Volt. It covers her usage and needs almost perfectly. It's a great car and it comes from a US based company, if such things matter to you.

 

[jamieb]

If you can wait a bit, 17's can be ordered later this month and will be available late winter/early spring. Updates include Adaptive cruise and Android Auto.

When I was at the presentation on the 2016 Volt that a local dealership gave for the Sacramento EV Association, they said that in the higher trim level, which they were already receiving, they had adaptive cruise control, auto-braking below 35 mph and lane autosteer. AirPlay and Android Auto also comes standard at that trim level. So I'm not sure this is waiting for the 2017 model. Or did you mean the 2016 model?

 

[mknox]

Not on TMC, but I do know someone with a 2016 Volt. I've seen a number around and have driven in one. Several dealers around me have them in stock, too. Seems like a nice improvement over the first generation Volt.

 

[ZachShahan]

I know you were asking for only owners to chime in, but since I follow this industry full-time and have followed the Volt forum closely (as well as many EV sites, general reviews, etc), I'll say that I've only really seen positive responses about the 2016. It looks excellent. Note that the Volt had the "happiest owners" according to Consumer Reports for two years before the Model S arrived and stole the title, and this generation is better in numerous ways.

As others have noted, it sounds like your wife's situation is ideal for the Volt. Seems like a shoe-in.

 

[Grendal]

Note that the Volt had the "happiest owners" according to Consumer Reports for two years before the Model S arrived and stole the title, and this generation is better in numerous ways.

Off topic, but it irks me to no end that GM never advertised this fact on the original. If the Chevy Cruze received the highest customer satisfaction award, it would have been all over GM advertising campaign.

 

[Bangor Bob]

When I was at the presentation on the 2016 Volt that a local dealership gave for the Sacramento EV Association, they said that in the higher trim level, which they were already receiving, they had adaptive cruise control, auto-braking below 35 mph and lane autosteer. AirPlay and Android Auto also comes standard at that trim level. So I'm not sure this is waiting for the 2017 model. Or did you mean the 2016 model?

Not entirely sure, the thread on the '17 order guide is here:

MY 2017 Order Guide

 

[techmaven]

I just want to note that GM has been active in fighting Tesla's efforts for direct sales in various states. Please take that into consideration in your evaluations.

 

[scottf200]

We have a 2016 built for my wife as of a few days ago and it is being shipped to the dealer. We have a 2011 with 60K miles on it and it has been excellent. It's going to our son. It is my daily driver currently and I've taken various road trips with it as well.

The GM Volt got me hooked on driving electric miles. They have listened closely to their customers and have made some impressive improvements. Lot of props to GM from me.

 

[danny]

My wife's daily driver, a 2004 Prius will need to be replaced in the next year, it's showing its age and we're starting to pay more for repairs.

I'm strongly considering replacing it with the 2016 Volt, which I took a look at recently. She loves my Model S but isn't interested in the route planning and charging while on long trips that those of us on TMC take for granted. Her daily commute is <30 miles but she has to do a long trip (>300 miles round trip) a few times a month to different places up and down the state including some pretty rural and remote areas. She has no interest in planning routes and finding charging locations, so the Volt would mean that 90% of her driving would be all-electric but it would still function for those remote trips.

I live in California, where the $2500 rebate from the state air resources board will begin being means-tested after January 1, so if we're going to get a Volt, I'd like to do it this month.

Has anyone here purchased a 2016 Volt? Any feedback on the car?

I have driven the 1st Gen Volts extensively. A family member of mine recently got a 2016. I am extremely impressed as they managed to improve what was already great about it, and really fix the major issues I found with the 1st gen, that being its driving experience and the center console. It is noticeably quicker, more nimble when turning, and feels more connected to the road. Center console and controls are fantastic, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay come with the standard LT trim and IMO a far superior experience to what Tesla offers in the Model S currently.

If you can wait a bit, 17's can be ordered later this month and will be available late winter/early spring. Updates include Adaptive cruise and Android Auto. 16's are very limited production, 17s will have wide availability. No word yet on what else will be different between the 16's and 17's.

Lots of good info and user reviews here:

GM-Volt.com Gen 2 forum

The 2016 will be receiving Android Auto capability by March, 2016: Chevrolet Confirms Android Auto Update
The update can be implemented at any Chevy dealership.

I was told that it should actually be ready sooner, but March seems to be the deadline.

 

[doug]

As with most plug-ins these days, I'd consider leasing if it makes sense for your situation.

 

[flankspeed8]

I just want to note that GM has been active in fighting Tesla's efforts for direct sales in various states. Please take that into consideration in your evaluations.

Are you surprised by this? It seems like it is one business protecting their interests against a competing interest. Did you think that they would pave the way to throw out the dealer network model? Does not have any bearing on the vehicle that seems very suitable for his wife.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

My wife's daily driver, a 2004 Prius will need to be replaced in the next year, it's showing its age and we're starting to pay more for repairs.

I'm strongly considering replacing it with the 2016 Volt, which I took a look at recently. She loves my Model S but isn't interested in the route planning and charging while on long trips that those of us on TMC take for granted. Her daily commute is <30 miles but she has to do a long trip (>300 miles round trip) a few times a month to different places up and down the state including some pretty rural and remote areas. She has no interest in planning routes and finding charging locations, so the Volt would mean that 90% of her driving would be all-electric but it would still function for those remote trips.

I live in California, where the $2500 rebate from the state air resources board will begin being means-tested after January 1, so if we're going to get a Volt, I'd like to do it this month.

Has anyone here purchased a 2016 Volt? Any feedback on the car?

You're in California, so you can easily buy from Rydell that usually has nice no-haggle pricing, or Keyes (has dealer add-ons, and not good for walk-ins but posts special offers on gm-volt.com.)

 

[wws]

My wife's daily driver, a 2004 Prius will need to be replaced in the next year, it's showing its age and we're starting to pay more for repairs.

I'm strongly considering replacing it with the 2016 Volt, which I took a look at recently. She loves my Model S but isn't interested in the route planning and charging while on long trips that those of us on TMC take for granted. Her daily commute is <30 miles but she has to do a long trip (>300 miles round trip) a few times a month to different places up and down the state including some pretty rural and remote areas. She has no interest in planning routes and finding charging locations, so the Volt would mean that 90% of her driving would be all-electric but it would still function for those remote trips.

I live in California, where the $2500 rebate from the state air resources board will begin being means-tested after January 1, so if we're going to get a Volt, I'd like to do it this month.

Has anyone here purchased a 2016 Volt? Any feedback on the car?

We purchased a 2016 a little over a month ago. Main usage is my wifes 40 mile round-trip commute. Ours is a fairly loaded Premier (DC 1, 2, and Nav.) I could nit pick on a few things, but generally it has been flawless.

As mentioned upthread, the 2016 model year is a short one. They are updating to a 2017 version early next year. The only differences that have been announced are an Adaptive Cruise Control option, which would be nice, and a new green color (ick.) OTOH, California is about to run out of green HOV stickers. So if the stickers are important to you, and if you wait around for the 2017 with ACC, you likely won't get them.

 

[boofagle]

I have a 2012 I bought in 2014. It just came off a lease and the lifetime mpg was 39, which is what the gas engine was rated at so that means the person never plugged it in. It also came with a 240v charger. I've since brought that up to 80mpg lifetime and my use is over 250mpg. I got it for around 20k with around 20k miles on it. They're much cheaper now. If you want to save a few bucks until the M3 is available I would go with a used one. You can get great deals on them. A lot of people leased them so they won't have huge miles on them. I had a Jeep Wrangler and what I paid in gas for that is now my monthly payment for the volt, which in my mind means I basically got the car for free. (or at least how I justify it )

 

[Tedkidd]

I have a 2012 I bought in 2014. It just came off a lease and the lifetime mpg was 39, which is what the gas engine was rated at so that means the person never plugged it in. It also came with a 240v charger. I've since brought that up to 80mpg lifetime and my use is over 250mpg. I got it for around 20k with around 20k miles on it. They're much cheaper now. If you want to save a few bucks until the M3 is available I would go with a used one. You can get great deals on them. A lot of people leased them so they won't have huge miles on them. I had a Jeep Wrangler and what I paid in gas for that is now my monthly payment for the volt, which in my mind means I basically got the car for free. (or at least how I justify it )

Good suggestion to consider.

Chevy has done NOTHING to support the used market - really none of the manufacturers have besides Tesla. So the residual values are TERRIBLE. You can get lightly used Volt's off lease for $12k. And it'll be quite an upgrade from her Prius.